I don't believe it either, but here is one article saying it will happen. http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=40335 It would be nice, though. Dom
Interesting. Wonder what market segment they would fit in with the weak dollar? Would the GTV/Spider go against the Boxer in the $50K segment? The 156 against the C230? The one thing I am sure of is that they could not reach up and contest the Masers. The good news is that it's a positive reason to continue my quest for an 8c Competizione.
Please look carefully at the date of the article, August 12, 2002. I am afraid that the facts may have changed since then.
Yep, it would be great. Those articles seem to get written every year... and get our hopes up. I'll believe it when I see it - but I am still optimistic! I want to have a new Alfa someday!!!
I LOVE my Alfa! Hope you all get this awesome Italian car soon. Eventhough mine is 9 years old, it's a 155, it still runs beautifully and is more than capable of holding its own against newer cars. Here's a shot of my Italian Bella that I thought I'd share with you. Cheers! Image Unavailable, Please Login
There was an articlein automotive news a week ago saying it is not in the near future... They have to fix Europe first.
Here is the article I mentioned. The North America quotes is at the bottom but here it is: What is the latest on Alfa Romeo returning to North America? "It's on the third page of the agenda, and I don't really think that we will open that page in the next few years." FROM THE TOP: Fiat ponders sharing more platforms with GM Automotive News / November 15, 2004 Advertisement PHOTO: PHILIP MEECH Related Links Talk from the Top Index Herbert Demel has been the CEO of troubled Fiat Auto for 11 months. The Italian automaker's first non-Italian boss has reorganized the company and assembled his own management team since arriving from Austrian coachbuilder Magna Steyr. The former Volkswagen AG executive still must stem massive losses, cut costs, deal with excess capacity and launch products to restore Fiat's profitability. Staff Reporter Luca Ciferri interviewed Demel at Fiat headquarters in Turin. In March, you said that Fiat Auto's target in 2004 was to at least halve its previous-year operating losses of 979 million euros ($1.26 billion at current exchange rates). You set a 2004 goal of less than $583 million in losses. In the first half, Fiat had already lost $615 million. What went wrong? In the first quarter, we performed quite well. In the second quarter, we had to face a major strike at our plant in Melfi, Italy, which had a severe impact. The third quarter has been better again. Therefore, during 2004 we will report a further reduction in losses vis-a-vis 2003, although most likely it will not be possible to halve them. You plan for Fiat to break even at the operating level in 2006, while in 2005 you will still report "a small operating loss." Can you be more specific? We have said "small," and we continue to say "small." Fiat group CEO Sergio Marchionne has said that by 2007 all operating sectors of the Fiat group should match best-in-class performance. For Fiat Auto, he set an operating profit target of 2.4 percent of revenue at the peak of the cycle. Isn't that lower than other mass-market carmakers? Our goal is stay in the average range of the automotive industry. In 2003, Fiat Auto recorded an operating loss of almost 5 percent of revenues. So to reach a 2.4 percent profit margin by 2007 means an improvement of over 7 percentage points, which is an ambitious target. Except for the Melfi and Pomigliano plants, your other three Italian car factories - Cassino, Mirafiori and Termini - on average operate every other week. How can you claim to use 78 percent of your 1.6 million-unit installed capacity in Italy? Capacity is calculated on 230 days a year on two shifts. At Melfi, we work on three shifts six days a week and the Mirafiori plant is partially running on three shifts for the Fiat Punto, Fiat Idea and Lancia Musa lines. Consequently, on average we use 78 percent of our Italian capacity. Will Fiat Auto reduce capacity in Italy, or will it keep five plants? There is no need to reduce it. We are often told that we have a big capacity problem. We don't see it as a problem. I would say that what we have to do is to review the layout of some production areas to better use our existing plants. We have about 44,000 employees, which is a good number in relation to our volume. Is your slow growth in China because of lack of products, lack of commitment or lack of financial resources to invest there? In China, we have a good industrial base and a good dealer network. What we had been missing was an increase in the product range. We have, therefore, decided to launch the Fiat Doblo (commercial vehicle) there, which will probably take place within the next six months. And we are developing a more attractive product range for China. You have 28 executives reporting directly to you. How can you manage all of them? Fiat Auto needed a leaner, more efficient and more competitive structure. At the end of July, we announced the new organizational structure that is flat and is based upon teamwork. Therefore, the 28 managers will not work with me on a one-to-one basis but as a team. Furthermore, they are called upon to make rapid decisions and counted on to execute them. This was, most likely, one of the major disadvantages we previously had. What responsibilities have you given the heads of the Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands and the boss of Fiat's light-commercial-vehicle division? They are responsible for their respective brands' marketing and sales activities and their profit and loss. That means they focus on the strategic positioning of the products - including content, style, prices, distribution channels - and on product initiatives including things connected to the life cycle of the models. On the commercial side, they are responsible for sales, which includes managing the dealer network. How much has Fiat Auto saved by developing the 199 project (the 2005 Punto replacement) with GM Europe? How much would Fiat Auto have had to spend if it went solo? It is not so easy to say. You never know what you would have spent if you went solo, so it is like discussing virtual numbers. To keep it simple, the cooperation with GM on this platform worked really well, and both sides saved money. The Stilo successor will be built on the current Stilo platform. When will the lower-medium, or C-segment, platforms of Fiat and GM Europe converge? We are talking about 2012, so obviously nothing has been decided yet. Right now, at Fiat Auto, we are planning to internally converge to a single platform for our various future C-segment models. Anyway, to converge with a partner, you need to align product cycles. Right now, that is not the case with GM in the C segment. Fiat offered two platforms to GM: the Panda's A platform and the Doblo's commercial-vehicle platform. What is the status? I do not know of any activity (from GM) on the A platform. For the Doblo replacement we are currently making some common project studies for the next generations. But it is too soon to say if we could end up making something together. Are there other GM platforms that Fiat Auto is considering? We are still looking to see if there is something else we could make together with mutual benefits. You told analysts that if all new models are like the Panda, "Our 2007 targets will be easily reached." What's so great about that car? The Panda is an excellent product, which won the European Car of the Year award. That was the first of a number of prestigious prizes it has won. The Panda is highly accepted and is exceeding our forecasts. It has a much higher positioning than its predecessor in terms of content and market perception. For example, air conditioning is chosen by more than 60 percent of buyers. If we could extrapolate all the positives of the Panda to our future products, then what I said would be right: Our 2007 targets could be easily reached. What is the potential of the Lancia brand for Fiat Auto? Lancia has the youngest product range in Fiat Auto and is our fastest growing brand. We have just launched the Musa in Italy, and we are starting to introduce it in other markets. Lancia has a very defined mission: to focus on design, comfort and luxury, and not on sportiness, which is Alfa Romeo's mission. Alfa Romeo has a great image globally, but volume and profitability continue to disappoint. Volume is likely to be down to 170,000 units this year. What is Alfa's medium-term target: 500,000? 300,000? At Fiat Auto, we are much more continuity-oriented. Let Alfa first start to grow again and then grow with continuity. Three hundred thousand units is a nice number. If it could be feasible in four years, it would be OK. What is the latest on Alfa Romeo returning to North America? "It's on the third page of the agenda, and I don't really think that we will open that page in the next few years."
I believe it would be Saab or Cadillac since GM owns an option to purchase the company. GM is the major player.
It can't be Audi, Saab, or Cadillac. Your Alfa Romeo shopper would probably consider an Audi, Saab, or the Cadillac CTS (or whatever their 5-series fighter is called). It would cannibalize sales. Anyways, Fiat still hasn't been sold to GM yet and it doesn't seem right to have Fiat owned by Americans, it should stay in Italian control. I want an Alfa, but I think Fiat has to get sorted out before there is any talk of Alfa coming back. Which is why I now want Fiat to start kicking ass in Europe. The sooner that happens, the better chance Alfa has. Personally, I think they should use the Ferrari/Maserati dealer network. I mean your 156 buyer won't be looking at a QP or a F430 and vice-versa. The biggest problem they will have is fighting their image of poor quality that many car buyers have of Alfa and there is a generation of car buyers that will never have heard of Alfa. With the attraction of Ferrari and Maserati, it will get buyers to come to the dealer. So they drool over a Ferrari, and drive out in a Alfa. The only problem is that it could dilute the Ferrari experience. But then again, any true tifosi knows about the Alfa connection with Ferrari, so you can't really disrespect Alfa or look down at it. One way would be to have the showrooms together, but seperated, like a mall of Italian marques- you don't want a 550M sitting right next to a 147. That would not be good. So it would be like a Porsche/Audi dealership, but better. And far more sexier
I've been told by a number of people in the business that there has been some extensive research on the Caddy /saab side but it all rumors. regardless, I would expect Puegeot to get here first. they have a number of cars in NJ going through testing and they do have a north american headquarters- although very, very small. Not a chance they will go through Ferrari dealers given the expansion it would require-not to mention the financial risk.
It appears to me that Fiat is trying to obtain a monetary concession from GM in order to release them from their "put option" obligation to purchase Fiat Auto. I think that this is the likely outcome in which Fiat keeps the auto group with a payoff from GM to assist in restructuring. Assuming this happens, the question would then be when and how would Fiat bring Alfa back to the US. Although using Ferrari dealerships makes sense from one point of view, I think many of these dealerships would have space limitations that would make it difficult or impossible to carry another line.
Ryan what's the basis of you opinion? If Maserati gets a boost in sales I could see splitting Ferrari and maser and haing Maserati/Alfa dealers. This could be direct compition for VW/Audi dealers. But Fiat would have to figure out how to sell either brand at a competitive price.
alfas would sell much better alongside maserati's than they would with saabs. saab and alfa are way to distinct to be sold alongside, look at the stupidity GM pulled by selling saabs with saturns........
Not bloody likely! Would be grand, but it ain't gonna happen. The current models will still be soldiering on in 2006 according to the Euro press, and it would be a ***** to make them comply with the daft DOT/NHTSA rules-and-regs. The earliest US will see Alfas, IMO, will be somewhere around the year 2008, and most likely later 'til they sort out the new models, and sell enough of them elsewhere around the World to make it worthwhile for Fiat to spend money on establishing a dealer network. You want an Alfa? Just pop down to Mexico, and waltz over to the nearest GM dealer...(almost true - there are dedicated GM dealers scattered about the country who do sell the 147, and the 156 - if you have enough money, they'll bring a GTA over for you as well since Mexico doesn't subscribe to DOT/NHTSA). BAZZTARDS!!!!!!
That's a joke! In my neck-of-the-woods SAAB, and Saturn sell side-by-side out of the same showroom. Can you imagine a salesperson selling Saturns all of sudden having to sell Alfas?!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I thought I read somewhere the other day that Luca killed the 8C, because it would take away from the top-of-the-line Maseratis.
